Groundbreaking held for new industry

By DONNA COLLINS Staff Writer

Camden News August 14, 2009

   CAMDEN - Phoenix Renewable Energy and local officials broke ground Thursday on a $180-plus million project that includes a wood pellet manufacturing plant, wood pellet fueled power generating plant and $4.5 million in improvements to the Port of Camden.    About 500 people gathered at the Port of Camden
   Camden Mayor Chris Claybaker welcomed the crowd by reminding them of the community’s "devastation" in 2000 when International Paper Co. closed the local paper mill. Claybaker said Phoenix, "like the hopes and dreams of generations, will rise out of the rumble" of what was once the IP mill.
   The Hot Springs-based Phoenix is leasing 44 acres of former IP property now owned by Camden Area Industrial Development Corporation.
   When the project was first revealed earlier this year, the cost was estimated at $110 million. CAIDC executive director James Lee Silliman told the Camden News the investment rose when Phoenix increased the size and capacity of the plants.
  

Ross said Camden and Phoenix are "addressing one of the most important issues of out time, renewable energy." Ross said the Camden facilities will pump $85 million a year into the economy while creating 58 jobs directly connected to the project and an additional 450 jobs indirectly.  Woody biomass or slash, all that’s left behind from timber harvesters, is an abundant natural resource in South Arkansas, one Ross said will help the nation emerge from its dependency on foreign oil and help grow jobs in South Arkansas.
   It’s estimated that Phoenix will produce 350,000 tons of pellets annually. The company has contracts to provide pellets to European and Asian markets. The pellets manufactured here will be transported by rail and barge to New Orleans and Houston.
   Pryor, son of former U.S. Sen. and Arkansas Gov. David Pryor, a native of Camden, praised Claybaker for his endless work toward making the Phoenix
He praised the community’s work ethic and exceptional spirit.  "We have the resources right here to improve the environment and create jobs," Pryor said.
   Phoenix CEO Sam Anderson spoke briefly about his family’s South Arkansas and North Louisiana roots, including that his mother is from Prescott and that his mother-in-law once worked at "a missile plant."
   Camden’s industrial base is firmly planted in the defense industry that rose from the Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot to what is now Highland Industrial Park, just across the Ouachita River, in Calhoun County.
   Anderson said he felt a kinship with the community and he too praised Claybaker’s efforts. Anderson also praised the partnership between Claybaker, Silliman and Norm MacNeill, executive director of Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development, the city’s contracted economic development organization.
   MacNeill is attending the Southern Economic Development Council Annual Conference in Point Clear, Ala., and was unable to attend Thursday’s event.
   Anderson said the community’s economic development efforts have put the town back on the map and as a result of local leadership Camden will be an example to the country and to the world.
   Anderson said Phoenix employees are team players and are looking forward to bringing new life to the Port of Camden.
   He praised congressional representatives and made a point to recognize Ed French, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s community affairs specialist from Texarkana. "They all worked tirelessly," Anderson said. "You people have made this possible," the company CEO said to a standing ovation.
   Project manager Steve Walker told the Camden News before the ceremony that the groundbreaking was the accumulation of a lot of hard work by local, state and federal officials. "We could not have done this without the complete cooperation of the mayor, CAIDC, OPED and state and national officials," Walker told the Camden News.
   Construction will begin as soon as a final phase of environmental testing is complete. Walker said construction would take 18 to 20 months from a start date. to celebrate the groundbreaking, including U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and U.S. Rep. Mike Ross. project a reality. "Leadership can make a difference. A positive difference," the senator said.